Patrick – Page 96 – They're Just Words

Posted on September 30, 2017January 25, 2018 by Patrick

The Vietnam War Documentary, Which Side Are You On?

Just got done watching The Vietnam War, the documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. I found it worthwhile, but at the end of the final episode, after eighteen hours, you’re a bit emotionally spent and I found myself shaking my head and muttering to myself, What a waste. Literally, everyone got fucked. Thirty years, over 58,000 American dead, 150,000 wounded, $111 billion . . . For nothing. A nation divided, an ally betrayed, a people abandoned.

Posted on September 29, 2017September 28, 2017 by Patrick

I Want My Old “Fantasies” Back

It used to be that fantasies we’re about dreams that could never come true, now the word “fantasy” is just short for “fantasy football,” the nightmare that won’t go away. It would be melodramatic to say that fantasy football is ruining my life, but it’s for sure ruining my football life.

Posted on September 28, 2017January 25, 2018 by Patrick

Contaminating Racket Sports The Way The Real Thing Contaminates A Sandwich

In the 1960s, when I was but a lad, my pops was a member of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The Club was old school personified, having been established in 1880 and occupying its spot on Seventh Street downtown for almost 100 years. Members of the LAAC have won ninety-seven Olympic medals, so while it had the appearance of a fairly exclusive men’s club, it was actually a badass sports club. Anyway, sometimes when my dad worked out he’d bring along me and my brother, and while he was working out, we’d ride the elevators and explore the Club, often ending up on the roof.